We all know - and sometimes parrot - the saying that ‘Life is short.’
Whether we are using it as a platitude or have recently suffered the loss of someone close to us and been jarred into feeling our mortality, this saying has no doubt touched all of our lives. The question today is, knowing as we do that life is short, why do we continue to live our lives as if we will live forever?
We hold grudges, sometimes subconsciously, assuming that ’someday’ we’ll resolve the issue.
We put off doing what is good for our health by eating and living for today, assuming we can ’someday’ correct our habits and get on the exercise and healthy diet bandwagon.
We have ideas for a product or business which we do nothing about. (Doesn’t the world deserve your wonderful ideas?)
We figure that someday in the future our finances will improve, and everything will work itself out OK.
We act as if our behavior isn’t cumulative.
Do You Think This ISN’T You?
Today, look at your own life and seek out areas where you have a ’someday’ attitude.
Can’t find any right off the bat? Keep looking! These thought patterns are often so familiar they’re hard to notice, but if you make an effort you’ll be rewarded. When you see the ’someday’s you’ve been carrying around with you, you may be shocked.
Maybe we NEED to be shocked…out of complacency, out of procrastination, out of thinking that our days and weeks will last forever. Have you ever noticed how fast your weeks go by? What makes you think they are not ALL going to go that fast, leading more quickly than you anticipated to the last week - the last day - of your life? Don’t be someone who has regrets later in life - live your life NOW!
Here are some ideas to help you start digging. They’re simple, but not easy. Do them right, and you’ll have more than enough to start with:
- Picture yourself at the end of your life, even though you don’t really believe it will end. Look back at the person you are today, reading this article…how old are you? Do you feel you are too young, or too old, to do what you really want to do with your life? What does the older, wiser you think? Can you ‘look back’ at yourself and see the time - the opportunities in the form of minutes, hours, days - that you are wasting? FEEL the potential pain of regret. Haven’t you ever looked back ten or 20 years and said to yourself ‘Boy, if I knew then what I know now, I could have..blah blah…’? DO IT NOW, from your end-of-life perspective. Then get moving.
- Picture your ideal life 10 years from now - long enough out to imagine you could potentially fulfill all of your dreams and desires. Ideally, write down your thoughts in detail, from relationship goals to monetary and lifestyle goals. Get an EXACT mental picture of the wonderful life you want in every aspect. Now, ask yourself what the current you would have to do and be in the intervening ten years in order to get there. The more you can define this path, the better your chances of turning those dreams into reality.
- What do you do every day? What are your habits? Here’s the tough part: look at your day-to-day habits and follow them out into the next five and ten years. If you were to continue doing exactly what you are doing today, where will it lead you? Is it the pretty picture you are hoping for? … For most people, not likely. This can be a really jarring exercise, and a much-needed wake-up call if done right. Fear not - awareness is power! Now you can act to change what needs to be changed, and get yourself on the path YOU choose (rather than the unconscious, reactionary, habit-based path you have been on) - the path to your dreams!
- Imagine the people you love - and those you’re not too fond of - have passed away. It IS going to happen, you know…and who knows when? Are there things you wish you had said or done? What are you waiting for? These things don’t get easier over the years - they get more difficult. Deal with it and don’t let all those little running conversations in your head hold you back another moment.
The reason many of us procrastinate, live in denial, or play the ’someday’ game usually comes down to fear. We’re afraid we don’t know how to make our dreams come true; we’re afraid of failure, or of success; we’re afraid of so many things we don’t even know what we’re afraid of. The truth, however, is that if we really look at what we’re doing and where we’re headed, we’d be WAY more frightened of the reality we see than of our imagined ghosts and demons. This is why the pain of regret wieghs so heavily for some in late life - they see clearly what they’ve been avoiding all those years, and it is devastating to realize all they’ve missed and left undone. Don’t let this be you. Forgive. Act. Face your fears. Take chances. Live passionately and urgently. Love!
See also: Patience: Virtue or Trap?
HUG SOMEONE TODAY!
Tags: Add new tag, beating procrastination, forgiveness, urgency
